March 12

“Thou sJialt love thy neighbor.” — Matthew v. 43.

I thy neighbor. Perhaps he rolls in riches, and 10l thou art poor, and living in thy little cot side by side with his lordly mansion; thou seest every day his estates, his fine linen, and his sumptuous banquets; God has given hira these gifts; covet not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it; but do not look upon thy neighbor, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him, and then thou wilt not envy him. Mayhap, on the other hand, thou art rich, and near thee reside the poor. Do not scorn to call them neighbors. Own that thou art bound to love them. The world calls them thy inferiors. In what are they inferior? They are far more thine equals than thine inferiors, for “God hath made of one blood all people that dwell upon the face of the earth.” It is thy coat which is better than theirs, but thou art by no means better than they. They are men, and what art thou more than that? Take heed that thou love thy neighbor even though he be in rags, or sunken in the depths of poverty. But, perhaps, you say, “I cannot love my neighbors, because for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt.” So much the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbors through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads; and if they be hard to please, seek not to please them, but to please thy blaster; and remember, if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy deed is as acceptable to Him as if it had been acceptable to them. Love thy neighbor, for in so doing thou art foUowmg in the footsteps of Christ.